Completely Hopeless
by rinzlerkitty
Summary: Prince Doctor's life is saved by the merman Master, who falls in love with him and strikes a deal with the Sea Witch Omega in order to become a human and get Doctor to fall in love with him.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who had a beautiful baby son. They lived in a kingdom beside the sea, and were fair and kind rulers to all their subjects. An enormous celebration was thrown in honor of the young prince, who came to call himself simply "Doctor".

On the day of Prince Doctor's birth, another prince came into the world. This one, however, was very different from any of the princes that any humans had ever seen. No, this child was prince of a far different kingdom, the kingdom of the sea itself.

This boy was a mer-child.

Half human and half fish, the mer-child that came to be known as Prince Master was born with brown hair, dark eyes, and a strong black fish tail where legs ought to be. His six older brothers sported the same color tail, though their appearances varied. They did not share the same mother, after all, though each of them was a noble prince, and Prince Master was expected to take his place among them.

As the youngest of the sea princes grew, it became more and more apparent that he was different than the others. He kept to himself, content to spend time in his solitary grotto as he collected and observed various items.

He had an entire collection of artifacts from the humans. The race he had never seen intrigued him greatly. The objects he found in sunken ships confused him, and though he sought out information on them from a seagull he'd befriended, he was never quite satisfied.

For years, Prince Master sought out any knowledge he could of these mysterious beings. His curiosity and knack for danger earned him many a lecture from his father, King Rassilon, but he couldn't help it. There were so many things he wanted to know, so much he felt so ignorant of, yet it was impossible to cure this state without being able to see the humans for himself. But of course, such an action was forbidden.

Eventually, however, he knew there was nothing else to learn. He had to see these humans. He had to know.

It was Prince Doctor's birthday on the day everything changed. In celebration of the event, he'd taken to sea with a shipful of lifelong friends and spent the day sailing about. The party was loud and the mood boisterous as music blared across the sea, and the lively prince's chocolate eyes sparkled in amusement.

That was the day Prince Master went to see the humans.

The merman was intrigued by the noise and swam noiselessly to the ship, watching the humans laugh and drink. Most fascinating of all was their _legs._ He couldn't help but smile as he watched the human prince dance with his friends, laughing and singing along with the rest of them.

"Here, Doctor, have a drink on me!"

Master swam along outside the ship as the Doctor moved again, this time to the other side of the ship. He had a sort of lanky grace to him that was…well…_beautiful_. And when he smiled, the way his whole face just shone…Master didn't think he'd ever seen anything more perfect in his life.

The prince accepted a drink from the dark haired man beside him, grinning at him. "Cheers, Jack. Not like I own all of this to begin with."

Jack scoffed. "Please, you make me sound boring when you remind me that. I poured it for you."

"Good on you, then," Doctor retorted, taking a swig of his drink. His friend grinned and slapped him on the back.

"Oi! You lot, get over here! I'm giving a birthday toast! Bring the present!"

The prince watched his friend in interest. "You know you didn't have to do presents."

Jack shrugged. "So? We like you and it's your birthday. And it's just one present from all of us. "

He laughed a little at that. "I don't deserve you lot."

His companion grinned. "No, you really don't."

Just as he finished speaking, the group of some twenty or so people crowded onto the bow of the boat, settling down on the random collection of boxes that had been brought aboard. Doctor had friends of all kinds, clearly. While they were all men, a handful of them had rather soft, feminine features, and all of them were rather handsome. All except for the older man who was rather green in the face, that is.

The prince smiled broadly at his collection of friends, clearly more than pleased to have them all there with him. Jack cleared his throat, and the attention went to him. He was holding a glass of amber liquid in one hand, positively beaming at the prince.

"Right, I think we all know why we're here," he began, and the talking quieted down to a murmur. "We're here to celebrate an incredible man and our prince!" A loud cheer went up from the group and the Doctor went slightly pink, smiling brightly. "I'm not about to make some long drawn-out speech here, since we all want to celebrate and drink, but I'd just like to say that he's been a brilliant friend, and I know I wouldn't be who I am today without him." He smiled, raising his glass. "So here's to Doc!"

The responding cheer was even louder than before, a few people stomping on the ground in their excitement before draining their glasses. Doctor just grinned.

"Hey Sammy, how's the birthday boy's present coming?"

Somewhere closer to the back a brunette man stood, a bit older than his fellows, but clearly just as happy to be there. Doctor raised an eyebrow at him as he approached, but then he took a step slightly out of the way, revealing the metal dog-like shape that had been following at his heels, its tin tail wagging furiously.

An enormous smile spread across the prince's face. "Samuel John, you are absolutely _brilliant_!" he exclaimed excitedly, giving his friend a quick hug before kneeling before the dog. "K-9! Hello you! Did you miss your daddy?"

Lights flickered across the tin dog's front, but a loud clap of thunder drowned out any response he might have given.

"_Hurricane_!"

If Master had been paying any attention to the sea, he would have noticed the storm approaching. As it was, he had allowed himself to be distracted by the human prince and his friends. Now, however, it was impossible to miss the churning waves and gale-force winds, thunder booming loud enough to make his ears hurt.

The wind tore him from the side of the ship where he had been watching and he hit the water hard, bobbing under for a moment before furiously swimming back up. He should go home, back to where he was safe, where his father could keep an eye on him and just forget this whole business. He'd seen the humans, after all, which is what he wanted, but something kept him there.

That prince…Doctor…was in danger.

He resurfaced just in time to see a flash of lightning strike the floaty white thing, which immediately burst into a glow of bright orange light. _Fire_, he realized, transfixed by the sight as the flames quickly spread across the ship.

The humans were getting off the ship, and taking instead to the smaller boat. It looked like a tight fit, but somehow they all made it. Master sighed in relief to see the prince had made it as well. He wasn't quite safe, not yet, but at least he was off the doomed vessel.

A sharp, high pitched note split the air, making the merman wince and turn his attention back to the source of the sound. That strange lumpy contraption that Doctor had shown so much affection for was still on board, the stick-like thing on its backend waving back and forth wildly.

In an instant, the human prince had thrown himself back into the water. _No, you idiot!_ Master raged silently, but of course, Doctor didn't hear him. He glanced back to the smaller ship, where the prince's companions were all yelling at their friend to just leave it and come back.

The loudest sound he'd ever heard ripped through the air as something shoved the Master forward and back under the water. _What was that?_ Dazed and a bit confused, he resurfaced as quickly as he could, eyes turning quickly back to where the prince had been last.

The ship was gone, fragments of wood scattered in every direction, and Doctor was missing.

Wait, no! There he was, unconscious and barely clinging to a plank of wood. Master swam towards it as quickly as he could, but the human prince had slid off his refuge into the water. Driven by a force he didn't understand, the merman dived, grabbing the human by the wrist and hauling him back up to the surface.

His friends had disappeared, and somehow the freak storm was already starting to clear, as was Master's head. _What am I doing?_ He'd broken Rassilon's ultimate rule of absolutely no interaction with humans, but he just couldn't let the man drown. He shifted his grip on him, frowning slightly as he noted the blood starting to cloud the water. _Better get him somewhere safe before any sharks show up._

By the time they reached the shore, Master was sore from towing his companion and the sun was just starting to rise. He dragged the prince up onto the sand and touched his face hesitantly. His skin was cold, but his lips had parted and he could hear the soft sounds of breathing.

"Oh good," he sighed, speaking aloud for the first time since this whole adventure had started. "I'm not about to waste all that effort just to have you die on me."

Something twinged oddly in his chest at the thought. The human lying unconscious beside him was enchantingly beautiful, his light brown hair pressed flat against his forehead, pink lips parted, his cheeks starting to develop a rosy hue as the sun's first rays broke on them, warm and bright. Master's hand shook slightly as he trailed his fingers slowly down the other man's face, a new sort of ache rising up inside of him.

He didn't ever want to leave Doctor's side, he realized.

"Oh no," he muttered. "That just isn't fair. You haven't said one bloody word to me."

Doctor woke to someone singing.

He was too groggy to make out words just yet, his ears still logged with sea water and his whole body aching from the previous night's ordeal, but he could tell someone was singing. It was a male voice, tenor from the sound of it, and sheer honey on the ears. His eyes fluttered open to see a face gazing down at him. While normally he'd at least start to question what was going on here, he couldn't find himself to care as to _why_ this man was here and more as to the simple fact that he _was_ here. A small smile curved his lips and he let his eyes close for a moment again. The song ended, and he was suddenly aware of a chorus of voices calling his name in the distance.

The feather light touch of lips against his made him open his eyes again, but the man was gone. There was a soft splash and all was silent for a moment before the loud, familiar voices of Don, Wilf, and Jack sounded once more, closer than before.

"I'm here," he managed to croak back tiredly. It seemed only a moment later that warm arms scooped him up and his head rested against someone's chest. Despite his slightly blurry vision it was easy to make out Don's vividly orange hair.

Just as he was slipping back into sleep, Doctor thought he heard his savior sing again.

"_I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now. Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be part of your world…"_


	2. Chapter 2

"Rise and shine, big boy. That's enough sleep for you."

A small smile spread across Doctor's face as he returned to consciousness, welcomed by the familiar sound of Jack's voice. His eyes fluttered open and he yawned, blinking until his vision cleared. He was propped up in his bed, his friend lying horizontally across the foot of the bed with a lazy grin on his face.

The prince rubbed his eyes before sitting up and stretching, wincing at the soreness in what seemed to be every part of his body. "Ow," he complained.

"You got a bit battered," Jack explained with a shrug, sitting up as well. A flash of concern crossed his face, revealing for a moment just how worried he'd been despite his casual demeanor. "We thought you were dead, Doc. I mean…a storm like that, when you were in the water…"

The memories came flooding back. "Someone _saved_ me," he recalled slowly. "He was there when I woke up, and he sang to me…" He gasped in surprise. "Jack, he _kissed_ me!"

His friend wasn't entirely convinced, and he gave the prince a little shove to nudge him back down. "Yeah, okay. Are you sure you weren't dreaming, because no one was with you when we found you. I would have noticed if a guy like that was around, assuming he was mysterious and attractive." There was a short pause. "He _was_ mysterious and attractive, right?"

"Very mysterious and attractive," Doctor agreed with a little sigh, falling back against the mattress. It hadn't been a dream…had it? He would have been able to tell the difference. Though now that he'd said it out loud, he realized it did sound rather outlandish. Where would that man have gone, if Jack and Don hadn't seen him?

The next day, everyone noticed something was different about King Rassilon's youngest son.

For one thing, he'd missed the concert. And it hadn't been just _any_ concert, it had been his debut concert. It had been his chance to shine and show the other merfolk that he had the best damn voice in the entire ocean, which, of course, he did.

For another thing, he was terribly distracted, even more than usual. He hardly paid attention at his father's lecture, instead humming cheerfully and worrying a loose scale on his tail. When a frustrated Rassilon finally gave him permission to leave, he did so rather dreamily, retreating back to his grotto and singing to himself the entire way.

His dream-like state was interrupted by the yellow-and-blue flounder blocking the entrance to his grotto. "_Some_one's got his head up on the surface," she remarked with a little laugh.

"Good morning, Jo." Master couldn't help but beam at his friend, taking her by the fin and giving her a twirl. "It's awful, I think I'm well and truly gone."

Jo giggled a bit, letting out a few bubbles as she twirled. "I have something for you."

Master paused, surprise crossing his face. "Do you really? And what might that be?" He was terribly curious. After all, Jo hadn't ever really gotten something for him before. Her company was more than enough, after all.

"If I told you, that would ruin the surprise."

The merman followed his little friend into his grotto, hardly glancing around at his rather extensive collection of human objects he'd found from sunken ships and other such places. It really was impressive, but he wasn't paying attention to that at the moment.

"Ta da! Look." Jo held up a strange cylindrical device made of…_metal_, that was the word, the tip bright blue.

"Ooohh, what is it?" Master took it excitedly, turning it over in his hands. There was a button on the side and he pressed it, dropping it in surprise as it lit up and made a strange noise.

"I have no idea," the flounder admitted. "But it's his. That human. It fell out of his pocket and…I thought you would like it." She hadn't gotten around to telling him yet that she'd followed him last night, and it embarrassed her slightly that she'd sort of spied on him. He just…hadn't looked like he would appreciate an interruption.

The look he gave her was anything but annoyed or angry, just quietly amused. He dived to pick up the strange device again, clutching it in one hand as the other gave the fish a gentle stroke. "It's wonderful, thank you."

"I need to find him," Doctor fussed, picking at his food. "I'm going to."

"Who?" asked Don a bit blankly, glancing over at the prince. Jack had talked Doctor into inviting a few friends down to the dock for a picnic, but so far the idea hadn't been working the way he'd wanted it to. Jack sighed.

"His imaginary boyfriend," he replied in a long-suffering voice.

Doctor pouted. "He's not imaginary, nor is he my boyfriend!"

"You'd like him to be," Jack pointed out.

Roger rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Don. "D'you mind explaining?" he asked huffily, running a hand through his blonde hair as he glanced over at the pair at the edge of the dock.

"There was this man who saved me," Doctor muttered, slightly embarrassed. "I have no idea who he is, but…I owe him my life. I just remember waking up to his face, and hearing him sing, and then he was gone." He sighed. He was honestly starting to doubt himself having ever seen the man in the first place, but the silence that met his words was more thoughtful than it was skeptical.

"Did he have a great big fish tail?" There was a loud laugh from behind them as the dark-skinned Mickey approached, clearly amused at his own joke. "Come on, Doctor, Don and Jack would have seen 'im. Where did he go? Into the sea?"

Roger frowned slightly. "You know, Mickey, that's a thought, actually. There's all sorts of stories of merfolk saving sailors, though I can't say I've ever heard of a mer_man_."

Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Now you're just poking fun at me. Someone saved me, alright? And I just…want to find him."

Master was playing with his newfound gadget when a loud noise caught his attention. He spun around with a quickly repressed flash of panic, heart thumping to see his visitor was none other than his father.

Well damn. He was in trouble.

"Oh. Father. I see you found me," he said awkwardly, hiding the object behind his back. Jo sunk into a corner.

"What is this?" Rassilon boomed angrily, glaring around.

_What do you think?_ Master forced himself to be somewhat polite. "My collection," he explained flatly.

He caught a flicker of movement behind his father, taking in the small red crab behind him, with his stupid mustache and red beret. _Damn Brig._

"Brig followed you last night," the other merman fumed. "You saved a human? You _know_ that's forbidden!"

Irritation made him snap. "Do I look like I _care_?" Rassilon's trident glowed orange, never a good sign, but Master was too angry to care at the moment. "I'm not a child, Father! Yet you still insist on acting like I am one! Lectures and punishments don't _work_ on me, haven't you noticed?"

The Sea King's eyes flashed, and his lip curled in anger. "Then I will find something that _does_ work!"

It happened too fast for Master to even register it until it was too late. The trident was bright orange, shooting bolts of bright yellow light at the carefully arranged collection. Anything that the light touched burst into a thousand tiny pieces.

He was too shocked to fight it, too hurt to even resist as everything he spent so long caring for and collecting disappeared, reduced to worthless pieces. Not a sound fell from his lips, though he was shaking violently by the time Rassilon finished.

With a final spiteful snort, the Sea King turned his tail on the massacred objects and exited, leaving his youngest son to lament over the loss.


End file.
